Helen's Blog

Frequency will be less next couple of weeks!!

2009-11-07T16:56:00.001+01:00

Most have noticed that I haven't been blogging much. Why? Because I haven't been quilting much. Why? Because I'm doing an NLP training. I must say this training is giving me some new insights. I'm loving it. Some are maybe thinking now, what is NLP? Well go and Google and find out. I dare you!

NLP is giving me a whole new perspective. It is a toolkit for personal and organizational change. This course is also helping me focus on what I find important. I've decided to use my time for other things the next couple of weeks.

I want to read certain books, but I'm letting myself be distracted by things like blogging, playing FarmVille, noise, housekeeping and many other things.

Yes, I've decided not to blog as frequently the next couple of weeks. If you miss me, you will know I'll be sitting in this chair. I've created my own little quiet space. I'll be reading those books I've wanted to read for some time. I'll try to keep up with all your blogs and will post something when I make a little more progress on my quilting. But don't expect too much from me. I'll be quiet till after Christmas break.

"The intuitive mind is a sacred gift and the rational mind is a faithful servant. We have created a society that honors the servant and has forgotten the gift." (Albert Einstein)

Sad

2009-11-03T18:03:00.001+01:00

Just found out that Mark Lipinski is no longer connected with Quilter's Home magazine. Read more here. I loved this magazine. Couldn't wait to receive the next issue. I loved his style.

Another good thing has come to an end. I'll have to read his blog from now on.

Christmas wreath or Winter wreath

2009-10-25T18:04:00.001+01:00

A busy day today. First I played a game of golf. That took up most of my morning. In the afternoon I started on my Christmas wreath. Still, I think that 'winter wreath' is a more appropriate name. Tonny, a quilt friend wanted to make one too. So here is an impression of our afternoon.

A messy and a not so messy pile. With our coffee break, we had some taai taai.

Taai taai is traditionally baked for St Nicholas' Eve in the Netherlands (which is the 5th of December). Like with everything else, you can usually buy it a couple of months before the event. What always surprises me, only a couple of days after the 5th of December it is al gone. You won't find it in any store till the end of October the next year. Spices used in this delicatessen are cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, ginger, cardamom and white pepper. Other necessities are white flour, brown sugar, and butter. If you want a recipe you will have to google. But if you are ever in the Netherlands around November do try this, or maybe try some speculaas or peppernoten.

here is me sitting behind the sewing machine, and sewing.

In the photo above are the fabrics that Tonny is using for her winter wreath. In the photo below are the fabrics that I have chosen to use.

Stuffing the little pockets and then sewing them shut.

In total I will have to complete 50 little cushions. According to another quilter, I will need more than the 32 instructed. Once I've sewn them all together, and have tied them onto a wreath, it will hopefully look like this.

I hope your afternoon was just as enjoyable as mine.

Delicious!!

2009-10-21T17:29:00.001+02:00

The postman delivered a parcel yesterday. Words can't describe how I feel, when arriving home late and finding a parcel on the table. Every time, again and again, it is a special moment, opening the parcel carefully and seeing these mags pop out.

I might not be doing much quilting, but dreaming about it is just as good, believe me!

Six American Patchwork & Quilting magazines. If you want some quiet time for yourself, you can order them from eQuilter.

I'll be drooling.

Men at work

2009-10-18T11:57:00.001+02:00

No quilting in this post. Yesterday, the men prepared the garden for winter. The forsythia scrub sadly had to be removed. If we pruned it into shape we would have no scrub left. In a couple of weeks it will be replaced by a platanus.

Sorry I had forgotten tot take a before and after picture. In the picture on the right Hubby is showing us where the forsythia was standing.

The magnolia has been pruned into shape as has the laurel.

This strange seed was found in the magnolia tree. Never have seen this before.

If anyone know the name of this tree, please e-mail me.

The after picture. I'm always a little sad to see the garden like this. Although I like autumn, I don't like its effect on the garden. Give me spring or summer anytime. The countdown has started.

Spring Countdown

What did I buy in Amsterdam?

2009-10-11T12:18:00.001+02:00

This is what I bought.

A bag, a VIP, a large quilt ring, and a sign.

Don't you just love this sign? I had to buy it. Found also the online store, if any one else wants to buy one. It is a small company located in rural Wisconsin, called Cousin Farm. But you can also buy them, where I bought mine, at Bird Blocks.

The quilt ring is huge, as you can see in the picture underneath. The quilt ring in the centre is a normal size quilt ring. I also bought the book, shown in the picture.

I had to buy the book for a course that will be starting coming January. In this course, I'm going to learn how to make a sampler with my sewing machine. I'll be making this sampler.

The fabrics I'll use will however be different. More about this quilt in the future.

ER

2009-10-11T11:55:00.001+02:00

I finally saw the last episode of ER. No ER anymore.

I was unable to watch the last episode ''and in the end'' for a long time, even though it was saved on our hard disk for some time. I'm finding it hard to let go. 15 years of memories!

For 15 years, ER was part of my life. I'm really going to miss this series. I'll especially miss, John Carter, Luka, Abby, Tony Gates, Samantha, Neela, Kerry Weaver, Mark Greene, and Carol Hathaway. I've learned to live without Doug, who has been out of the show for a long time

But these two will remain my favorite doctors for a long time.

Last Wednesday!

2009-10-09T07:14:00.000+02:00

was a full fun packed quilt related outing. Where did we go? Amsterdam! We took the train, which I have to admit was a long time ago that I used this kind of transportation.

After a busy day walking through only a small part of Amsterdam, I think I would have preferred using my car on the way home.

I was with two other quilt friends, Tonny and Mirjam. We met up with Mirjam at Amsterdam Central and we walked towards Den Haan & Wagenmakers in heavy rain. But first we visited the Bijenkorf to have some lunch and so that I could by myself a new bag and a bag-in-bag from Tintamar. I prefer the other name they go by: Very Intelligent Pocket. It is so cute and handy.

The bag and VIP were found quickly and up we went to have some lunch. I really wish we had more stores like this one in the Netherlands, the other Bijenkorf's really can't compete with the one in Amsterdam.

After our lunch we continued our journey towards Den Haan & Wagenmakers. Lucky me, I had a little map with me, as I'm sure we would have gotten lots if we followed Mirjam's advice .

Relief, we found the shop.

Another display on your left. Mirjam & Tonny looking and being creative in their heads. You can see Tonny thinking!

Mirjam trying to decide. Feeling and touching is such an integral part of quilting.

Some quilts and jelly rolls displayed

The display unit!

The fabrics Mirjam bought!

Next to Den Haan & Wagenmakers is another quilt shop. Why did we not know this? No one mentions this shop in the blogs I follow. Bird Blocks is a very well stocked quilt shop, with lots of notions and quilt fabrics. Tonny bought some lovely fabrics for het new project, the secret garden quilt.

After visiting both quilt shops we walked a little further and visited de Kerkhof Passementen, a haberdashery shop.

I'm sure some are curious what I bought. I'll show you in a next post.

Got myself a new mobile

2009-10-03T17:54:00.000+02:00

I love gadgets! Look what I got...

It is the Nokia E75.

I can log on internet any time! I can Facebook wherever I am. Messaging (SMS) has become easy with my little full QWERTY keyboard. So guess who has a smile on her face. Me!!

Another quilt lesson

2009-10-02T17:29:00.000+02:00

Here is a impression of our quilt lesson Thursday evening.

On the left Tonny is showing her quilt that she is making for her daughter. In the right picture, Mirjam is showing her quilt top that she wants to sandwich.

Here is 'me' making another block. Janny thanks for taking a picture of me. Yes, this will be my fourth feathered star block. When will I ever finish???

A close-up of Janny's star quilt. She has finished quilting nearly all the blocks in this quilt. As you can see all the quilting is being done by hand.

A close-up of Mirjam sandwiching. In the picture on the right, you see a half eaten 'gevulde koek'. The other half was eaten by Tineke. Yes, do have to watch my weight, but the main reason for not eating a whole 'gevulde koek' is because it contains too many carbohydrates. For those who are not Dutch, a 'gevulde koek' is pretty filling.

In the picture on your left, you see Tonny's feathered star quilt under construction. She has nearly completed the top.

We are busy bee's!!!

the temptation was too great

2009-09-27T16:57:00.000+02:00

Last year I saw this beautiful Christmas wreath that Bep Elshof made on her blog. Lots of other Dutch quilters also made one. This year I saw that you could buy the fabric online at Beps Atelier - webshop. So guess what I did Sunday evening, I went online and ordered the materials necessary to make this wreath.

Last year I had already bought the other necessities: a raffia wreath and strips of raffia fibers.

If you want to make one to, click on this URL for more instructions.

Hope to post a picture of my wreath sometime near Christmas.

While away

2009-09-20T13:49:00.001+02:00

After skimming 1873 posts I found these two new websites. I think they are worth mentioning: Pink and Barbara has a new website and these merry Australian ladies decided to put up the blog Gum Tree designers.

After sorting 3 weeks of mail I came across this magazine.

Hopefully my quilt gang (Marja, Matty, Jannie, Mirjam, and Tonny) have appreciated all my posts!! I will try to post a little more often in the next couple of weeks.

Broken

2009-09-20T12:13:00.001+02:00

My iron is broken!

the GC8220

It seems that after every vacation something doesn't work when we get back. Three years ago, my beautiful Gaggia Espresso Machine, last year it was the iron, and this year it is again the iron. Thank G.. they were able to fix the Gaggia! I really wouldn't know how to survive without my coffee. Getting it fixed however set me back financially for a while and I had to live without my machine for 6 weeks.

Last years iron, got replaced. So why did this iron break down in just 15 months time?? Is it really because it is a Philips? I'm kind of hoping Philips will be able to fix it, no charge. Although I expect it will cost quiet a lot as the warranty has lapsed (3 months ago). If it is too much, we will have to get a new one. Any advice?

At the moment I'm ironing with an old steam iron, and ironing isn't as much fun

Vacation photos - part two

2009-09-20T10:10:00.001+02:00

To get an impression of our holiday in Wales, you have to watch part two of the slideshow.

Isn't northern Wales beautiful?

Vacation photos - part one

2009-09-20T09:59:00.001+02:00

This slideshow is a impression of our vacation in northern Wales.

Bloglines

2009-09-20T09:16:00.001+02:00

Do you know how many posts I have missed the last 4 weeks? This is what happens when you priorities your chores and go and do a course and go on vacation. I can't believe it but when I opened bloglines this morning I saw the following number 1873.

I have to read 1873 posts!! I think I might skim through most of them. Hopefully I will know what you other quilters are up to, without spending too many hours behind the computer. I still need to do some ironing, cleaning and prepare myself for another course that starts next week!! Sadly, Sunday only has so many hours!

PS. I'll be posting my vacations photos today!!

First lesson autumn 2009

2009-09-20T07:47:00.001+02:00

It was a long summer. My last lesson was in April as we had a family holiday at Como lake, Italy, in May. During our first lesson, two sadly had to miss out as they had other engagements. Hopefully with this slideshow they will get an impression of what they have missed out. As you will see some really worked hard this summer. Most have nearly finished their feathered star tops.

Jen Jones, Wales

2009-09-18T08:09:00.000+02:00

This year I finally was able to visit Jen Jones and admire the Welsh quilts and blankets that she has collected. As it was a little wet Tuesday morning and the weather forecast wasn't predicting any better weather we decided to go Lampeter to visit Jen Jones Welsh Quilt Centre .

Although the centre was smaller than I thought it would be, I must say, I'm glad we made the effort to drive from Bala to Lampeter (a two and half hour drive).

As Jen Jones wasn't in Lampeter and as I really wanted to meet her in person, I was inclined to ask Hubby for another favor and drive to Pontbrendu, Llanybydder. Sadly, the assistant in Lampeter informed me that she was not there either, only her cleaner was there. So this year I again wasn't able to visit the shop!

The pictures underneath are an impression of the antique quilts and blankets displayed in the gallery.

The touching display table of some samplers. Isn't this a good idea for all those people who can't contain themselves, and need to touch and feel to truly enjoy a quilt.

For memories sake, I bought these two books. Lucky me, they didn't sell any fabric at the centre, so I was able to contain myself!!

I'm back!!

2009-09-16T10:56:00.000+02:00

It has been some time since I blogged. Why? Because I did a course in the UK beginning of September and I had my annual vacation afterwards!! So, I missed posting these photos of the Quiltmarkt at the end of august.

The new quilt season will start soon!! Our first lesson will be on the 17th of September.

Memories - flashback

2009-09-15T10:57:00.000+02:00

End of may we had our annual quiltmarkt. This was lots of fun and to give an impression I've decided to post some pictures of that day, again.

Quilt Bee

2009-08-13T10:55:00.000+02:00

Last night we had a little quilt get-together. Only a few of us were there. I came late as I had a business presentation I had to attend to. Which ran longer than planned and therefore I didn't have any of my things with me. I drove straight to Marja's place otherwise I would get there far too late. I also didn't have my camera with me, so all the photos in this post are from Marja. She depicted our evening very well.

I enjoyed a nice cup of coffee and show and tell. Matty was also a little later as she wanted to finish sandwiching her feathered star top. And here it is.

In the above picture is Matty's feathered star quilt.

Here we are admiring Matty's finished quilt top. This small quilt (see picture underneath) she made for her cat. But her cat likes it so much he keeps kneading the top, so it has been confiscated. Her poor cat is now only allowed to admire the quilt top from afar. Just as we are doing.

Here is Jannie's feathered star quilt. She has nearly finished her top. It is me peeking over the side. Jannie is a little camera shy!!

Matty is busy with another project. She is trying out a log cabin pattern. This is a sampler. A try-out.

Marja is also very busy. She is working hard on finishing her feathered star quilt.

This is how the border is coming along.

This was our last get together before we start with our next class. Half September quilt school starts again!!

Teddy to the doctor & postman came

2009-08-11T11:39:00.000+02:00

For a check-up Teddy had to go to the vet. He likes his new cat carrier. I initially thought this would take some effort to get him inside, I even though he might not fit, but I removed the door and before I knew it, he was inside. Travelling has become a lot easier.

How are your trips to the vet? Is your cat quiet or does he cry? Teddy makes some terrible noises in the car. He doesn't seem to be very impressed being allowed to travel in my Nissan Qashqai. You'd think I was doing the most terrible thing to him. Luckily he cries only on the trip towards the vet. After the visit he is always very contend travelling back home and very quiet.

For those who might be worried, he is OK. It was only a check-up.

The postman also delivered two parcels. McCall's Quilting magazine and my third project from 'Under the Mulberry Tree'. This is a Natalie Ross in Stitches project.

Well this will be another project that will go in the box 'future project to do' . This box is pretty full .

The front garden

2009-08-09T12:28:00.000+02:00

The Hydrangea (Hortensia) in our front garden are in bloom.

Two of the three free-standing espaliered Tilia's are doing very well. The one doing not so well will be replaced with a new one coming October after the leaves have fallen from the other Tilia's.

In another two years, we will have plenty of shade in the summer. It is amazing how much shade we are already getting from these young Tilia's. Love the look.

We also have some espaliered Tilia's in the backyard

Block 4

2009-08-08T11:26:00.000+02:00

Here I'm copying the templates on freezer paper.

Yes, I've finally started on my fourth block!!

Here I've ironed the freezer paper on the fabric.

Here I'm drawing the templates on the fabric.

Here is the centre part cut out for the fourth block.

Making some more progress.

I think I will like this block the most. Hopefully I will be able to sew it together without being confronted with too many mistakes.

I'll show my progress in an other post.

Bear chairs

2009-08-07T08:17:00.001+02:00

The past three mornings I have been painting between 7 and 9 am. I love this time of the morning in the summer. The sun is shining but still cool.

Why three mornings? Because we now have three bear chairs and a foot rest. Last Saturday we bought another bear chair, for a special quest.

Here you see the first chair and foot rest done. Actually it was more strenuous and tiring then I thought. When I started, I thought I would have all three done in one morning. How wrong I was. Maybe overly ambitious? Still, it was worth it. It looks pretty good, if I do say so.